Thoughts And Observations: Slash And Burn

Thoughts and Observations: Kramer vs. Tompkins (vs. Kramer)

The readings from the last few sessions of Tompkins and Kramer really worked well together for me. 

Essentially in chapters 9-12 of Aim for the Heart the importance of B roll and variety of shots became the tantamount elements for video journalism and when doing interviews. Images can add so much more to a news report or feature piece than words alone. Plus, having different shots and angles gives the viewer a greater sense of the world you are introducing them to.

When doing the interview, try to display the items and activities that help describe who the subject is. This can also be provided in the B roll. The support video showing action and movement to liven up the piece. This B roll can be hobbies or activities, sights and sounds, or even just some busy work. Over all the sense of the person must be best portrayed throughout. 

This all segways rather handily into Kramer's section. The focus was primarily on how to set up the frame work for a story. Organization is key for any writing job - be it a hard news lede or grand magazine article. Setting up that rough skeleton is key to a good body of work. Secondly, don't think that your first draft is going to be gold from the start. There is always going to be something to tweak, something to tighten, something to add or take away.

The central thing to bear in mind so you don't become obsessive over it is that you're out there to make the best thing you can in the time you have. If you can honestly say that, then you've done a damned good job. 

Developing Ideas: Notes & Observations

To be honest, I was never one for public affairs or even public speaking. The very thought of it filled me with such dread. That is why I liked writing so much, the words on the page would speak for me, and I was safe to sit aside far and away from the crowd. And now, oddly enough, I'm working to be a journalist. A job where one of its primary tenants is talking to strangers. But here I am, and here we are. 

I took to print over broadcast because for much of the same reasons. The words would speak for me and I was protected from the eyes of the camera and the viewers. However, using video and images also afford certain strengths that words cannot express. A poignant interview or video package can form a development far more striking than lone words can convey at times. So using them together can create very powerful journalism.

In the reading Developing Ideas, the focus was on forming a focus for documentary film making. However, the core ideals can still resonate with developing a video piece. Aside from the technical things like "B roll" (footage to keep the scene rolling along), it also gave some nuggets of advice that really stuck with me. 

The Idea is only the Catalyst

You must keep a curious mind, a sharp eye, and a listening ear to the world around you. The thing that may trigger within you a thought or idea may come from the most infinitesimal thing. Many times "[the] inspiration...can come from anywhere" (pg. 7). 

Taking it Beyond Curiosity

Be prepared to watch your initial idea change and shift right before your eyes as you develop it. Sometimes it's because of what a subject said or did, a certain fact you discovered, or your present idea just isn't working out as you wanted it to. There is a chance that your focus can morph into something utterly unrecognizable. The key is to be adaptive to any change. Stubbornness is the killer.

Do you have a Passion for the Topic?

A professor of mine once said in order to grasp something you're working on you have to "go to school on it." In order to better understand the subject you're working, you must be willing to do the research, the homework, the interviews to really get it down. But in order to do that with any quantum of effectiveness you have the desire to dive right into it and dig deep into the foundations of your topic. You must "...assess how deeply this topic touches you" (pg. 7).

(Belated) Weekend Update: Beginning of the End

Everything is coming together for us this coming week. But also everything is drawing to a huge close. It's sort of like the ships in Star Trek being pulled into the black hole and there's nothing that can be done to escape its pull. 

That's what the end of the semester feels like. 

The video piece is well on its way and should be wrapped up in the next day or two. In addition, the article is also coming along. In time, it should all come together. 

I think the key is to make sure you manage the time you have. Putting things off will not solve anything. Because no matter what you may think or want, those deadlines will still be on their way. So just do yourself a favor and get your stuff done!

Current Events, Tribulations, and All that Jazz

After a long bout of delays, we finally got our subject for our 5 min video interview! He was pretty nervous at first but after talking with him for a bit, he warmed up considerably (though to be fair, I get nervous before every interview I do anyway). We got A-Roll done along with some B-Roll and we plan to do some more this coming Monday. Overall, a huge weight feels lifted from our heads now that we got this part all settled. The rest shall fall into place smoothly enough (hopefully anyway).

Telling True Stories: Thoughts (pages19-59)

The first section of reading from Telling True Stories came as a good introduction to what is needed for good non-fiction writing in general and essentially good reporting. What I particularly felt pulled by was the section on finding topics to write about. This has always been a bit of a thorn in my side when it comes to my writing process. The idea of sitting before a blank screen became more frightening to me than being at the muzzle end of a firing squad (at least with that, I knew where the story would be going).

From reading this section, it all really comes down to the people. The topic you choose could be the most dynamic, electrifying, epic topic to burst onto the scene in a long while, but without a good subject -- without that spark of humanity, the story will always fall flat. So the key to any good topic for a story has got to start with the people and the subject working as one unit. When a face is put with the news, it makes the story all the more lively and worth paying attention to. 

Going with the theme of topic, it's best to choose something that can resonate with the reader. Sometimes, this can be found rather easily like if the topic is about jobs or the economy. But other times, and this I believe is the true test of a good writer and reporter, is when you can find the commonality between people of various walks of life and circumstance. If you can make a connection between the reader and a globe-trotting playboy, you know you have something great.

And that connection can only be found through the next point made: details and observation. When interviewing, whether you do so with pen and paper, recorder, by sheer force of memory, or some mixture of the three, you must always be aware of the little details that reveal nuances of the subject. Look about their room what do you see? Pictures of the family? No pictures of the family? Artworks? Little Precious Moments Doll collections? And what about some memories of their own? What did they do as a child? Was their father around? What about siblings? Romances? Or lack thereof? All these things factor into what makes this person, your subject, tick. It's all right there, bubbling under the surface like a river under a thick sheet of ice: sometimes the ice is thin and easily broken, other times you have to work at it a bit before you can break through. 

What I particularly liked was theme of establishing intimacy with the subject. Before they open up, they have to trust and be comfortable around you. If their guard is up, nothing will come to pass and you'll be at a stalemate with deadline approaching. Being able to establish rapport is a key skill to develop as a reporter. 

Awkward Assumptions and Mistaken Sexuality

There's been a lot of stuff in my walk through life that I've been mistaken for because of my looks and mannerisms. 

I've been thought to be Indian, Cuban, some sort of Pacific Islander, or something or other. But those don't usually come about as often as a certain one does. 

For more times than I can remember, I've been assumed to be gay...a lot of times.

The first time it happened was when I was at work helping a woman with finding some CDs.

About two hours into my shift at work, a woman approached me asking me for help looking for a CD. She had on a deep purple blouse accompanied by a black button-up cardigan. Her shoulder-length hair bobbed with anxious energy as her head craned from left to right in search of something. As per my salesman script, I asked what type she was looking for and she replied in hushed tones “I’m a little embarrassed to say this;” she then leaned in closer the, almost whispering “I’m looking for… Broadway musicals.”

I waved my hand as if to shoo away her concerns. “Oh no worries,” I said “I listen to everything from Wu-Tang to Dolly Parton, so you have nothing to worry about.” We then shared a little chortle as I led her to the music section.

As I was searching for her CD she said “Oh look.” To the right of us was a line-up of Dolly Parton’s albums. The first in line depicted Dolly in a tight Pepto-Bismol-pink colored dress that was so tight it looked painted on. She was reclining on what looked like a bale of hay. Her hair took up three quarters of the album art. Her bosoms handled the rest.

We both stared at this case for only a moment – no more than two seconds when this woman chimed in:

 “Look at this, you must have loved this one since you’re gay.”

“What?”

“You know, you’re gay, right?”

“Actually no, I’m… I’m not.”

“Oh…”

After this exchange a great silence fell. Her eyes held a plaintive wideness as if she was waiting for me to say “Just kidding, I am gay!” and she could breathe a sigh of relief. But it did not come. And then each muscle in her face went slack one fiber at a time. As if the realization of her folly was weighing down on her cheeks and crow’s feet. 

In that fleeting silence that lasted forever, I wonder what might have caused her to think it. Was it that I liked Dolly Parton? My black thick-rimmed glasses? My mannerisms? Or was it the lisp? Something had to be done to break the tension.

I slowly turned around and picked up the complete musical adaption of Phantom of the Opera from the rack and offered it to her with a guileless smile.

“Is this what you were looking for?”

She replied with a hasty jumble of syllables that I could not make out, and quickly made her exit 

Honestly, that was the first of many times that people thought I was gay and I can't truly grasp why. I suppose, it may come from me being a good dresser? I'm well spoken? I can dance with some resemblance of rhythm?

All these things are at best, the stereotypical facets of homosexuality, but if that is the components that people based their assumptions of me, does that mean - at least in a dichotomy sense - that straight men are a mass of poorly dressed neanderthals?

While it doesn't happen every day, it has occurred in a startlingly quick rate. 

I think it's a matter of the times. In older time periods, in the time of the dandy gentleman, I would be considered pretty friggin' manly with my sweet capes and hats. 

Saturday Updates: What's going on thus far...

As of now, not much has come to pass. I have finally found my topic for capstone. Focusing on war veterans having to adjust to civilian life and all the challenges that entails: psychological, economical, social - all these things intertwine with one another. Overall, this makes for a subject that can touch a broad range of topics and themes. 

I'm embarking on the report packet as we speak. It looks to be a daunting task but it's a necessary process to undertake. 

The core facets I need will definitely be a wide range of experts: possibly those in the psych field, rehabilitation disciplines, or most importantly returning veterans. 

The final subject may be the most challenging for obvious reasons. But I think if I and my partner can approach it in the right light, we can definitely make some headway. 

That's the latest and greatest for now. Stay tuned next week for another exciting installment of Saturday updates.

A Journalist's Progress: Vid Interview (part deux)

This past Friday marked a couple major advancements for our project. We finally nabbed our second interview session with our subject and even better he said "I'm used to the camera now." Which was true from his whole demeanor throughout the session. He was more natural and fluid, not as conscious of the machinery recording him and focused more on us. His quotes and the pics he provided were very deep and interesting to have.

It always amazes me how much a person can get used to people over such a short time period. Considering how shy and awkward I am at almost any given moment in my life, the act of talking to a stranger about some of the most personal stuff you can get into with someone is an act of insanity as far as I'm concerned.

I think it has to do with being able to watch the slow transformation from strangers to acquaintanceship -- that delicate and steady progression as we talk like normal people and not a good cop bad cop scenario or interrogation. Despite the initial horror I feel at every outset, being able to bear witness to that shift makes it worth it. Every single time.  

Nothing says high-fashion like a T-Rex in a top hat. Nothing.

Elegance (by mathiole)

Thoughts and Observations: Aim for the Heart chpts. 4-5

The opening gambit is most important in all walks of life. First impressions are the first line of knowledge people get of you. And in relation to writing, this is all the more apparent. 

In Tompkins, the opening line or the "hook" is seen to the audience as "the invitation to stay or the temptation to leave." What makes the reader want to stay and read on? What makes them mindlessly just give a sigh and skip to another story or flip the channel? The answer is motivation and relation. 

If the story can grab the reader and make them feel connected to the subject to the story as a whole, then that feeling will keep them to page. It's essentially a courtship between the reader and story: the initial contact, the sense of wanting to know more, and eventually entering into a private and personal world. Once you hook them however, is only the first part, the rest of the job comes in trying to keep them hooked throughout the end. 

This can be done by keeping the writing interesting and solid. Maintain a fluid and action-laden pace. This doesn't mean you have to make a Diehard movie in word form, but you should have a strong narrative that flows from scene to scene, action to reaction, character to character. As you form that network of characters and feeling, the audience will have no choice but to stick with you.